Twins hire ex-Cubs manager Quade to lead Rochester

With Gene Glynn on the major-league coaching staff next season, the Twins on Friday named former Cubs manager Mike Quade to replace him as manager of the Rochester Red Wings, the team's Class AAA affiliate.

Quade, 57, has spent 17 seasons as a minor-league manager, including nine at the Triple-A level, and one-plus at the helm in Chicago, where he went 95-104.

"With his leadership, experience and passion for the game," Twins director of minor league operations Brad Steil said in a statement, "he will be a great addition to the Red Wings family and the Rochester community."

Glynn, promoted to third-base coach under Paul Molitor for next season, compiled a 226-206 record in three seasons in Rochester, making the International League playoffs in 2013. The Red Wings have been the Twins' top minor-league affiliate since 2003.

Quade was a roving outfield and baserunning coordinator in the Yankees' minor league system last year, but has served as a manager in five different organizations, compiling a 1,213-1,165 record overall.

"After a few years away from managing, I was fortunate enough to have an organization that I have the utmost respect for offer me an opportunity to get back to doing what I've done for so many years," Quade said in the Red Wings' statement. "I am truly looking forward to making Rochester another chapter in my baseball life. My thanks to the Twins for bringing me on board."

Quade was the Cubs' third-base coach in 2010 when Lou Piniella retired, and he went 24-13 over the final two months to earn a full-time contract. Quade went 71-91 in 2011, his only full season as a major-league manager.

MAUER RETURNS TO CEDAR RAPIDS: Jake Mauer will return to Cedar Rapids for his third season as manager, the Twins' Class A affiliate announced Friday. Mauer, whose younger brother Joe is the Twins' first baseman, owns a 161-117 record with the Kernels. Mauer, who turns 36 on Saturday, has also managed the organization's farm clubs in the Florida State League and the Gulf Coast League.

Former Twins infielder Tommy Watkins will return as the Kernels' hitting coach, while Henry Bonilla will serve as pitching coach after spending last season in the same position with Elizabethton.

SMITH, MIENTKIEWICZ SWAP JOBS: Jeff Smith, who managed the Twins' Class AA team in New Britain, Conn., for the past five seasons, will take over the Class A Fort Myers Miracle next season, the team announced. It's Smith's second stint as manager near his south Florida hometown.

Smith's new assignment clears the way for former Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz to move up to Double-A, where the Twins have changed affiliations for the 2015 season. Mientkiewicz, who led the Miracle to the Florida State League championship in September, will take over the Chattanooga Lookouts next spring, the Twins' new Class AA affiliate.

Mientkiewicz, 39, will be joined by hitting coach Chad Allen and pitching coach Stu Cliburn, who formed Smith's staff in New Britain last year. Smith, 40, has managed in the Twins' system for nine seasons, including 2008-09 in Fort Myers, where he went 157-117 and led the Miracle to the playoffs in both seasons. Smith is a native of Naples, Fla., about 20 miles from Fort Myers.

Smith's staff will include Jim Dwyer, in his 10th season as the Miracle's hitting coach, and Ivan Arteaga, who spent 2014 with Cedar Rapids, as the pitching coach.

In addition to those appointments, the Twins announced that Ray Smith will return for his 14th season at rookie-level Elizabethton, while Ramon Borrego will run the team's Gulf Coast League team for a sixth season.

Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.